Transcriptional silencing of 35S driven-transgene is differentially determined depending on promoter methylation heterogeneity at specific cytosines in both plus- and minus-sense strands.

ABSTRACT:

Background

De novo DNA methylation triggered by short interfering RNAs is called RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM). Transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) through RdDM can be induced using a viral vector. We have previously induced RdDM on the 35S promoter in the green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing Nicotiana benthamiana line 16c using the cucumber mosaic virus vector. The GFP fluorescence phenotype segregated into two types, "red" and "orange" in the first self-fertilized (S₁) progeny plants by the difference in degree of recovery from TGS on GFP expression. In the second self-fertilized generation (S₂ plants), the phenotypes again segregated. Explaining what generates the red and orange types could answer a very important question in epigenetics: How i

SUBMITTER: Matsunaga W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6332629 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature